Pudalangai Thengai Paal Kootu | Pudalangai Kootu Using coconut milk | Snake Gourd Coconut Milk Side-Dish | Podalangai Kootu

Pudalangai / Snake gourd is one of my favorite veggies and I love any dish specially side-dishes made with it. One among-st my favorite side dish is this Thengai paal kootu, where the snake gourd pieces are deliciously cooked in coconut milk. It can be accompanied with rasam, parupu or any gravy and rice. It tastes so creamy, has a light sweetness from the coconut milk, and a very good flavor. The cumin seeds added imparts a nice flavor to the recipe and makes it even more good. I always love adding coconut milk to most of my recipes as they give a very appetizing look and a super tasting and rich and creamy dish. You can check out my other recipes using coconut milk here. Few of my favorite recipes using coconut milk are; are Chicken coconut milk curry, Minced Lamb Curry, Potato Masala, Nutty tomato coconut milk jam, Coconut Rice. These are few of my signature recipes and are a hit here at home so give these a try and let me know how much you loved it. 

INGREDIENTS

Serves 2 people as sides 

Total Preparation Time - 15 to 20 minutes 

1. Podalangai / Snake gourd - 1 small (weighed 130 grams)
2. Shallots / Pearl onions - 5 (peeled and chopped)
3. Coconut milk - 2.5 cups (1.5 cups thin milk, 1 cup thick milk; refer tip 1)
4. Curry leaves - Few 
5. Cumin seeds - ½ spoon
6. Mustard seeds - ½ spoon
7. Green chillies - 1 small (slit into two)
8. Salt - As required
9. Oil - 2 spoons

PREPARATION METHOD

• Wash the snake gourd well in water and pat dry it. Then chop it into 2 halves (if it is too long  then cut into 4 halves)
• Then slit the chopped pieces and remove the soft center seed part using the knife or your hands and discard it. It is so soft and can be easily scraped out. Now chop into smaller pieces and set aside.

  

• Now place a pan of flame and pour oil into it. After it heats up, splutter mustard seeds then add cumin seeds, curry leaves and onions. Saute for a minute on low flame or until the onions turn translucent.
• Then add the chopped snake gourd pieces and saute for a minute.
• Now pour thin coconut milk, add salt, stir well and cook on low flame until the water content reduces. After the water content has reduced check if the snake gourd pieces have got cooked. If not pour some more water and let it cook. (Before adding thick coconut milk see that the pieces are cooked to soft). 
• Now pour the thick coconut milk, check for salt and set the flame to medium mode. 
• Remove from flame when the milk content reduces and the dish seems creamy. 
• Serve!!

TIP 1: To extract thick and thin coconut milk do the following; Using a knife take (or scrap coconut) coconut pieces from half shell of a medium sized coconut and chop into smaller pieces (or grate/shred them) now grind using a mixer or blender without adding water. Once it has got coarsely ground, add 1/2 cup of water and grind again until it becomes a fine paste. Now pour another 1/2 cup of water (or warm water) and extract the milk from it use a strainer or a white cloth and extract the milk. For thinner milk pour another cup of water (or warm water) to the remaining pulp and mix well extract thin milk from this mixture using a strainer or a cloth. Set aside. You can use warm water or normal water to extract coconut milk. But while using warm water you will get more of it.Measure these and use for the recipe above. 

TIP 2: You can use coconut oil to enhance the aroma and flavor of the kootu. 

Delicious and creamy Podalangai / Snake gourd kootu is now ready!! Serve with rice!! Goes well with either with rasam rice or rice with chicken/mutton/prawn curry..